A Trip to the Highlands
by Snorcackle
Summary: The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to visit an old friend and gets a bit more than he bargained for, in the most pleasant way possible.
1. A Trip to the Highlands

"DOCTOR!"

The Doctor looked up from his work underneath the console floor. "I told you before, Amy, you need to pull the zigzag lever and then push the top left, bottom right, and dead center buttons on the green button dial pad, IN THAT ORDER!"

"No, Doctor, something's shown up on the screen!"

"What?"

"It's some sort hill!"

"Just wait up there, Amy! I'll be up there in just a second!"

"I wasn't really planning on going anywhere."

The Doctor rushed up the stairs to the main console. He turned the screen towards his face. As he examined the scene, a wide grin opened from his mouth. "And you call yourself Scottish!" he yelled as he ran towards the TARDIS doors. He swung the doors open, and quickly turned back around, shouting, "I've fixed it!"

"Fixed what, Doctor?"

"You know how that screen just seems to show information? Well, it used to show the outside world around us, the greatest information possible, so we could know exactly our environment before stepping foot in it!"

"And we're in…?"

"Scotland, Amy! Scotland in the 18th century! Again, you call yourself Scottish!"

"I also call myself a 21st century sort of girl. I don't find it that shocking, really."

"Quick, grab Rory! We're going to explore a little bit!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "What could possibly be worth exploring in 18th century Scotland?"

"We're going to catch up with an old friend!"

"I was going to ask how you have an old friend in 18th century Scotland, but then I remembered how you still owe a Casanova a chicken."

The Doctor ran outside, breathing in the highland air. He took a quick glance around, searching for what he remembered to be Jamie's house. He didn't have to look long, though, for the TARDIS was far from unrecognizable.

Around the other side of the TARDIS, Jamie McCrimmon was examining the blue paneling of the box immediately in front of him. It seemed so familiar, so natural, and yet the part of his brain that he still trusted told him that it couldn't be real. It was the property of his dreams. He had one memory of something like it, but he assumed he had to have made it up. If he spoke of it as if it were true, he'd be labeled a loon, for certain.

He heard a voice coming from the other side, and stood absolutely still for fear of shattering his dream come true. "Doctor," said the voice –a female's, and Scottish, from the sound of it –"who exactly are we visiting?"

"A very old friend. I haven't seen him for a few centuries. Actually, I'm pretty sure the last time I saw him was, oh, five regenerations ago? But the last time he saw me… Oh, that was around nine regenerations ago. Jamie McCrimmon, come on out!"

"Did someone call my name?" Jamie walked around to the other side of the TARDIS. That's what it was called, yes. Things were starting to flood back into his mind: the Doctor, Daleks, adventures throughout time and space. The man who stood on the other side of the box was unrecognizable, but it did not surprise Jamie, for he could remember now meeting at least six different versions of the Doctor.

"Jamie!" The Doctor swept him up in a hug. As he let go, he introduced the others. "Jamie McCrimmon, I would like for you to meet my companions, Rory and Amelia Pond-"

"Williams. It's Williams," said Rory.

"No, it's not."

"No. It's not."

"Pleased to be making your acquaintances, ma'am, sir." Jamie bowed his head to show respect.

"Is that a kilt? Wow, Amy. And to think I thought _you _were the most Scottish person I'd ever met." Rory laughed until Amy slapped him on the arm.

"Would everyone just stop making that joke already?"

"Well, Doctor," Jamie continued, "You look a wee bit different since last I saw you."

"Yes, yes, I suppose I do. The last time I saw you, I was still wearing that pink coat, I suppose; although, the last time you saw me was much earlier. I was still all grumpy and old, wasn't I? Going around looking like a mortician, trying to be serious all the time. Time streams are strange things, aren't they?"

"You mean there was a time when dressed more ridiculously than this? I'm shocked," said Rory. Amy giggled to herself.

"How many times have you changed since the last time you saw me? I've met about six different versions of you by now."

"Oh, about five… Yes, I had that delightful question mark sweater vest-" this revelation made Amy's giggles turn into wheezes "-and then there was the time I woke up after my regeneration and completely forgot who I was. Now, that was interesting! Then there was the Time War, and I barely escaped that one. Thought I might not actually regenerate. I became very bitter, almost swore off humans entirely. Oh, and THEN I absorbed the heart of the time vortex. Not a very pleasant experience, I'm afraid. But, I made it out safely. That next regeneration, I think you ought to know, I visited Scotland just once, by accident, ran into the Queen! I used your name actually, but then I got banished, so, in case you were planning on jumping forward a couple of centuries, don't."

"You've certainly been through a lot, then, eh?" Jamie smiled.

"Certainly. And what about you? I suppose no regenerations on your part, seeing as you're… well… human."

"No, my life has been fairly calm, since I finished fighting the redcoats. Truth be told, Doctor, for quite some time I've been unable to remember the TARDIS, or you, for that matter."

The Doctor's face slowly morphed into an expression of sad realization. "Oh, how could I have been so _stupid_? I completely forgot that they wiped your memory. I'm so terribly sorry about that. I suppose that seeing the TARDIS triggered your memory back?"

"Yes. But I've been leading a happy life, still, even without the TARDIS."

"Still a piper?"

"Still a piper. And I'm married now."

An enormous smile spread across the Doctor's face. "Are you, now? Who's the lucky lady and when do we get to meet her?"

Jamie furrowed his brow, obviously somewhat confused. "Well, Doctor, I'm still trying to figure everything out, so many memories, so quickly. But I think- I _think_- you've already met her."

"Well, then." The Doctor was unsure about what to expect. "Shall I meet her again, then?"

"Certainly."

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory followed Jamie through the village, walking through town square, wandering past the market, strolling down cobblestone streets. Amy fought to shrug off disapproving glances from the villagers. When she had gotten dressed that morning, she had hardly thought that her jeans would be such a topic of disdain.

Finally, they came to a cottage. A woman was facing the house, watering what appeared to be a vegetable garden. She turned around as she heard them approaching. As they came closer, they could all see the smile growing across her face. "Doctor!" she exclaimed, smoothing over the folds of her long dress before walking over gracefully to greet him.

"How does he know _everybody_ in 18th century Scotland?" Amy muttered to Rory.

"Amy, Rory, meet Victoria Waterfield!" The Doctor seemed absolutely ecstatic.

"McCrimmon, now," Victoria corrected him.

"And a congratulations to the happy couple!" The Doctor turned to Amy and Rory now. "You know, I rarely wish for my companions to engage in… intimate relationships-"

"We're aware," Rory interrupted.

"-but, I always told myself that, if these two were to find each other once again, I would be a happy man. And so they did! However did you do it?"

"Well, you ought to know, Doctor," said Victoria. "You did it."

"Did I?"

"Oh, I suppose you haven't yet. Time streams are strange things, aren't they?"

"That's funny, I said the same thing earlier."

"I know. You've told me. Or, rather, you will tell me."

"Oh, so I will. But, how did you avoid triggering his memory?"

"Well, I've constructed an alternate life, so to speak. I was a lost traveler, you see, and I decided I liked the town so much that I should stay. It was very difficult, you know, keeping the memories from the TARDIS all to myself. Fortunately, it hasn't been too long, fortunately. I've been here about a year, and I've been married to Jamie now for the better part of four months. If you hadn't shown up by now, though, I may have just told him myself, and not waited for you like you told me to. I was getting awfully impatient."

"Well, then," the Doctor sighed happily, "I suppose we've got another adventure to go on later. But, first, I would very much like to catch up with the two of you."

"Indeed! I'll serve you some tea. Jamie, darling, come along inside. You, too, Doctor."

"Splendid! Come along, Ponds."


	2. Setting Things Right

**AN:** This was originally intended to be a one shot where Jamie was supposed to show Amy what it really meant to be Scottish, and it's sort of spiraled out of control from there. Sorry. I just felt like I couldn't just not explain how Victoria ended up in 18th century Scotland.

* * *

"I've got to say, Doctor, you've got some interesting friends. I especially liked the one in the kilt."

"That's quite enough sass for now, Pond. We've got a rescue mission of sorts to deal with." The Doctor was very focused on setting precisely the right coordinates, trying to figure out precisely what year to go to, what location to land in. "This need to go absolutely, perfectly, exactly right or we'll ruin the whole thing."

"That's never stopped you before."

Suddenly, the Doctor stopped messing with dials and buttons, and solemnly turned his head towards Amy and Rory. "I have just one question, just _one_, and it is of gravest importance. Did Victoria seem a little bit… _young_ to you?"

Amy and Rory looked at each other, each a little confused. "I'd say she couldn't be more than a couple years older than Amy, at the most," Rory finally replied. "Why?"

The Doctor's mind flew back to a conversation he'd had with a very dear friend, quite some time ago now. Just this last regeneration, in an attempt to catch up dear old Sarah Jane Smith, he recalled her explanation of events at New World University, of which Victoria was Vice Chancellor. This Victoria was a much older Victoria, a Victoria brainwashed by the Great Intelligence, a Victoria who could not exist in the same universe as the one he had just seen in the highlands. Sarah Jane was brilliant enough to stop the Great Intelligence herself and save Victoria at the same time, of course.

"Amy, if I were to give you two alternate realities that could not possibly exist, but did exist, what would you tell me?"

"Erm…" Amy wasn't really sure what the Doctor was going for. The people she had just met seemed real enough. What was the catch? "I guess I'd tell you what you've always told me."

"Which is?"

"Time can be rewritten."

"Bingo! Rory, do you remember that one time that Amy was trapped on Apalapucia?"

"How could I forget?" While it was difficult to think about, meeting a much older, battle-hardened version of his wife was a fairly memorable experience.

"You met two different Amy's: the older one, who helped you to escape, and the younger one, who's here now. But, if the younger one is here now, then the older one could not possibly have existed, meaning you would not have gotten out of there alive. But we have special rules, we're time travelers. We can remember and be influenced by things that we've changed and nobody else will ever know the difference, even if it means recreating entire worlds and destroying civilizations. She existed to you, and you alone, and now we've got a lovely young Amy who hasn't totally gone insane. So, if we can have her and destroy the means by which we got her here, then we can still have our lovely young Victoria in the Scottish highlands and she will never be possessed by the Great Intelligence, meaning Sarah Jane never had to save her and we never had this conversation, but we'll still remember it because we're time travelers. Now, I'm not certain about the two of you, but I know that I like young, happy Victoria much better than possessed-by-the-Great-Intelligence Victoria."

"Excuse me, Doctor, but you lost me at 'Great Intelligence.' Well, probably before that, but I vaguely remember those words," Rory said. Amy quickly nodded in agreement.

"I'll explain later. We've got a girl to save!"

And, so, the Doctor was back to punching buttons to set coordinates. The TARDIS whirred and wheezed, and finally the fixed screen showed a lovely house next to a sea. "I hope they haven't moved, although I wouldn't blame them if they had, what with the monster seaweed and all."

"Doctor, could you please give us _some_ idea of what is going on?"

"Oh, yes! Well, when I last dropped off Victoria, she chose to stay with this family, the Harris's. Lovely people. We had just battled some… well, I still don't know exactly what it was, but it _looked_ like seaweed. She found it just a bit too stressful, and stayed behind. Jamie never let me hear the end of it. And, from the looks of it, we won't hear the end of it from her, either." The trio could see Victoria on the screen from quite a distance, running daintily towards the TARDIS. The Doctor immediately ran to fling the doors open to greet her.

Outside, Victoria could hardly contain her emotions. She had so loved the Harris's, but it was so unlike anything she had ever experienced- ha! She had gone from being a refined lady to being a time-travelling rogue, but living in a normal house one hundred years in the future from the life she remembered was hardly easy to adjust to. The change from her home to the TARDIS was much simpler; once she got used to the fact that she was travelling around in a blue box that was bigger on the inside, the rest of it didn't seem so strange. But living in a house, with what should have been a normal life, where nothing else that mattered was the same- that was impossible.

She didn't immediately recognize the man who stepped out of the TARDIS, but it wasn't hard to guess. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she could remember how the Doctor would tell stories of his past life… And, was she going insane, or did she remember having a conversation with yet another version of him? That seemed to be more of a dream than anything else, but still… Even if he was wearing a tweed jacket, even if he looked so very much younger, she knew it had to be him. There was no other possibility.

Victoria continued running towards the Doctor as quickly as she could without tripping over the hem of her long dress. He held out his arms for an embrace, which she gladly reciprocated. She looked at him, smiling, but her face fell a bit when she saw the two unrecognizable faces following him. "Who are they? Where's Jamie?"

"Oh, Victoria, these are my two companions, Amy and Rory Pond."

"I'm not even going to try arguing this time," Rory muttered to himself.

"And, I promise you, Victoria, you're going to see Jamie very soon, assuming it doesn't rip a hole in the fabric of the universe."

"Well, I suppose we wouldn't want that, now, would we?" Victoria smiled again. "I always hoped you would come back for me, Doctor. I've missed you, and the TARDIS, and Jamie… all of you, really, so very much."

"Now, Victoria, I'm going to do something for you, but you're going to have to be very brave."

"And what would that be, Doctor?"

"I'm going to take you to see Jamie. When you left the ship, it broke his heart. He almost didn't forgive me."

"So why will I need to be brave?"

"He won't remember you."

Victoria's face fell yet again. She had missed Jamie more than anyone else she had ever met, even more than her own deceased father. "Why?"

"You left of your own decision, remember? Jamie didn't have a decision. He was sent back whether he wanted to or not, and his memory of me, of the TARDIS, and, unfortunately, of _you_, was erased completely. It's stilled buried deep within his brain, but it will take something big to trigger his memory. Something like the TARDIS. I'll take you to see him, but I'll have to leave you for a while. You can't mention anything, and you'll have to wait, but I promise, I will come back. You have to trust me."

"If you came back for me now, I have no doubt that you'll come back for me again."

"Oh, and, one other thing: for me, all of that has already happened. I won't know about this. Time streams are strange things, aren't they?"

"Indeed they are."

"Doctor, can we get a move on?" Amy finally interrupted. "It's a little bit chilly out here."

"Oh, certainly. To the TARDIS?"

"To the TARDIS!"

Once inside, Victoria had a few more questions. "What should I tell him? How do I keep him from recognizing me? What will I wear?"

"Oh, tell him that you're a traveler, lost from your group, looking for a place in town to stay in for a couple of days. Then you should say that you like the town so much you could never leave. You could still go by Victoria, but change your last name. Try… Heriot. As far as clothing is concerned, I believe there should be a tartan skirt or two in the closet. Amy, go check with her."

"Doctor," Amy interrupted once more, "she's British. If she's wearing a tartan, wouldn't he be concerned something was a little… weird?"

"Amy, you've met him. I honestly don't think he'll figure it out."

Soon enough, they were in the highlands once more, a bit farther out from the village.

"Alright, Victoria, you're on your own now. Just act lost, and, I promise you, he'll find you."

"Thank you so much, Doctor." She smiled one last smile at him before departing. "See you soon!"

"Yes. See you soon." the Doctor waved at her as she walked off into the distance. "Now, as for you, Ponds, while I'm still thinking about this, I've got one last mission to go on before we start chasing aliens and whatnot once again."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Great. Is anything going to trip you up this time?"

"Nonsense. I know _precisely_ what I'm getting myself into. I hope."


	3. Finding Zoe

**AN:** I think this is going to be the last one. I obviously don't own any of these characters. Sorry if I've spoiled anything, but, since a decent portion of the really old episodes don't technically exist in their full forms anymore, I doubt anyone was planning on watching them.

* * *

"Alright, Doctor, where to this time? 52nd century Greece? Another planet perhaps?"

"Actually," the Doctor responded, smiling, "we're headed to the 21st century."

"Oh." Amy was a little disappointed. She had hoped they'd be going somewhere exciting. As long as it wasn't Leadworth…

"Don't worry. It's a space station. Space Station W3, known as the Wheel, to be exact. I have another very old friend there who, very much like Jamie, can't remember me. Well, if I'm going to be accurate, she can't remember me for precisely the same reason Jamie couldn't remember me."

"Which would be…?"

"I was on trial. I had stolen the TARDIS, and the other Time Lords didn't particularly care for that, so I sort of lost contact with them. But then a very, very awful thing happened. I came across another renegade like myself, only, whereas I was trying to help, to fix, he was trying to conquer and destroy. I had to contact the high council of the Time Lords, but that meant giving up the TARDIS and being exiled to Earth, and Zoe and Jamie, who were travelling with me at the time, had to have their memories wiped and were returned to their respective homes."

"But, Doctor, we're in the TARDIS now."

"Well, you really don't think I'd let them take it from me, do you? They tried to keep me from remembering how to fly it, but I'm a quick learner." He continued punching buttons and pulling levers.

Amy walked around the console, thinking. Finally, she couldn't keep her thoughts to herself any longer. "Doctor, how many of us have there been?"

"Hm?"

"How many of us have you been taking around with you, since you first stole the TARDIS?"

"Now, Amy, this is no sort of time to get self-conscious."

"I'm just… curious."

"Well, there've been quite a few." The Doctor flipped a couple more switches as he answered. "Each time that I've changed, I've picked out a couple new friends to take with me. Not necessarily right after I've changed, but sooner or later it just sort of… happens. You lot, you all get tired of adventuring. Or, sometimes, maybe you don't, but you all leave eventually. It happens, life goes on. But, I promise you, this is the last one we're going to visit today."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Would I lie to you?"

"Yes."

"Well, it doesn't matter much right now. We're here. Fetch Rory. I don't understand why he keeps on wandering off."

The Doctor threw open the doors once again, hardly able to contain his excitement. Zoe Heriot had been one of the most brilliant people he had ever met, let alone who had travelled with him. It nearly killed him to lose both her and Jamie on the same day. Zoe was so brilliant, in fact, that the Doctor almost expected her to recognize him on sight.

Zoe was standing in the hallway when she heard the noise. That wheezing, clanking noise that had haunted her dreams was coming to her in daytime. That was too strange. She had seen a psychiatrist once, to talk about what her dreams could possibly mean to her. She had also figured out that, biologically, she was two years older than she should be. Two years of her life, just vanished, and nobody else could tell. But, if this noise was coming to her in the day time, maybe things would finally add up.

She followed her ears, listening closely for the humming. She finally traced it to behind an enormous titanium door. This was it. She would finally piece together her life.

She threw the door open. Before her eyes was a blue box. It was so strange, so out of place, and yet it seemed so very familiar. She walked up to the doors of it when, suddenly, they, too, were flung open.

The man in front of her was unfamiliar, but memories were slowly starting to flow back to her. She remembered a man who travelled around in a blue box just like this, a man who changed instead of dying. She had met a couple of different versions of this man. The strange man in front of her just had to be him. Before she could even fully understand what was going on in her brain, she blurted out, "Doctor!"

The Doctor's smile spread all the way across his face. "Zoe Heriot!" He held out his arms for an embrace. "You are absolutely brilliant, you know. It took Jamie much longer to figure it out."

"Well," said Zoe, "I have had the advantage of being able to think while I traced the TARDIS noise. But look at you! Look at how different you are!"

Two more people, one male, one female, walked out of the TARDIS, holding hands. "Zoe, I would like you to meet my companions, Rory and Amelia Pond."

"Pleased to meet you." Zoe nodded to them politely.

Amy looked around for a moment. "Doctor, I thought you said this was 21st century."

"Oh, it is. You've still got a few decades before all of this. Think of how far you've come in the past fifty years or so, and then let it grow exponentially," the Doctor replied. He turned back to Zoe. "I have to know: did you ever figure it out? Did you bypass the memory block?"

"Not quite." Zoe frowned. "I had dreams about the TARDIS, though; about you and Jamie and all of the stars. The stars more than anything, but I guess you could say that's because I'm an astrophysicist. I did figure out that I was two years older than I should be, though. Things just weren't fitting together logically, though. But now you're back, and it all makes sense again."

"Zoe, I never had any doubt that, if one person could even come close to cracking the memory block, it would be you." The Doctor thought to himself for just a moment, when, suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. He turned to Amy and Rory momentarily, as if for affirmation, and then returned his focus to Zoe. "What do you say? One last adventure. Just you, me, the TARDIS, and, well, these two."

"Oh, Doctor, I couldn't. I've got a job to do here, you know."

"Zoe, I think you're forgetting that this is a time machine. You can still do your work. I can have you back five minutes ago, if you'd like."

"Well, then." Zoe grinned, and looked to Amy and Rory to see if they would object. They quickly nodded for her to come along, and her grin spread wider. "I'd be happy to."

The four headed back into the TARDIS, Zoe for the first time in quite a long time, ready to begin their own incomparable adventure.


	4. An Adventure for Zoe

**AN:** I'm sorry about this one. Y'know, one of the most universally disliked companions (don't ask me why, because I think she's adorable). But I wanted to get them off of Earth for a while and this one just sort of made sense to me. Obviously, I don't own any of these characters (although, I do like the planet I came up with).

* * *

"Alright, Zoe, where first?"

"Well…" Zoe thought about it for a minute or so. She looked over towards Amy and Rory, who were leaning against the railing. "I am rather fond of the constellation Camelopardalis. Are there any good planets around there?"

"Ooh, the giraffe. Only from Earth's perspective, of course. If I remember correctly, from the planet Svartos, it looks more like a… well, actually, the animal it resembles isn't native to Earth. You wouldn't recognize it." The Doctor set about putting coordinates into the console, flipping switches and punching buttons.

Zoe turned to Amy and Rory. "How did the Doctor find the two of you?"

"It's sort of a long story. There was a crack in my wall, and then an alien escaped, and things slowly got lost until the Doctor recreated the Big Bang. Then he almost got lost forever until my wedding-"

"Our wedding," Rory chimed.

"Yes, our wedding, which he crash landed right in the middle of because I somehow remembered him. And then we've been travelling with him for about a year since."

"That's much more interesting than my story, I'm afraid. I just met him on the space station, the one you just saw. I was sick of just sitting there. But, then of course, we met the War Chief and the Time Lords sent me back home. Tell me, are the Time Lords still as stubborn in their ways?"

"Er…" Amy wasn't sure what to say at first. "We've never met the rest. They're all gone."

"What?"

"All gone. All of them," Rory said. "Except the Doctor, of course. Well, him and our daughter. Before you ask, it's a long story. Baby in the TARDIS, time vortex and all that."

"Well, that's very interesting indeed." Zoe looked sufficiently puzzled,

The Doctor interrupted. "And we're here!" He looked quite pleased with himself. "To you, Zoe, this is the planet HD 33564 b, but, to its inhabitants, it's known as Szaantek."

"But, Doctor, how could we be here? The planet's got a highly eccentric orbit. We could go from being frozen over to being burnt to a crisp in several days."

"Not to worry. They've got an atmospheric shell. Those Szaantekians, always thinking ahead."

Once outside, the group quickly became aware of the fantastic world around them. Buildings of sparkling crystal lined golden streets, whereupon humanoids with long necks and emerald hair walked peacefully. A bustling marketplace was exploding with life. Merchants called out fantastic deals. "Genuine Earthling diamonds, seventy-two units!" "Beautiful Saturnynian textiles, forty-eight units!" "Enormous Jacondan tree cuttings, two hundred units!"

One man, standing near the limits of the marketplace, had attracted quite a large crowd. He and his assistant were obviously not Szaantekian. The man had a beard and wore leather armor, a linen satchel hanging at his waist. The woman wore more Earthly clothes, a slim pink jacket with large, puffy sleeves, and long white pants. Her full head of curly orange hair stood out against the deep green of the Szaantekians' locks.

The man was shouting out with enthusiasm. "If you will all indulge me for just one minute, ladies and gentlemen, Szaantekians and tourists alike, I must show you the finest things the universe can offer you. Not just Earth diamonds, but the _largest_ cut Earth diamonds. Not just antidotes for your ailments, but the finest anti-venoms from the deepest caves of Androzani Minor. Not just otherworldly herbs and flowers, but the sweetest-smelling blossoms of Vortis!"

"Wait a minute..." The Doctor looked puzzled. "I know that voice."

"Oh, no." Amy and Rory looked to one another. "Here we go again."

"How many people does he know in this universe?" Zoe asked Amy.

"Well, this is the eleventh version of him so far, so I'm guessing quite a few."

The Doctor was still trying to figure out the sound of that voice. It wasn't until his eyes finally fell on the redhead standing next to the merchant that the mystery worked itself out.

"Sabalom Glitz!" the Doctor practically screamed.

The salesman looked up, puzzled that anyone here recognized his name. He was merely trying to rack up a few extra units before hopping along to the next planet. No one was supposed to know him. "Who's asking?"

His assistant was much quicker. The blue box behind the strange man was a dead giveaway for the man she had traveled with so long ago. How could she forget? "Doctor!" she screamed. She pushed her way through the crowd to see him once again. He was so different this time. She would have remembered if she had seen anyone even remotely like this before.

As she ran up to him, the Doctor grabbed her up in an embrace. Letting go, he quickly turned to introduce her to his friends. "Melanie, these are Amy, Rory, and Zoe. And, well, everyone, this is Mel."

"I thought you said Salabom or something?" Rory asked, and Amy and Zoe quickly nodded to show that they shared the same confusion.

"First of all, it's Sabalom, and second of all, he's the voice I was trying to place. I like Mel a lot more."

"Well, thank you!"

"Before we even get any further," Amy started, knowing it was going to come up eventually, "how do you know the Doctor?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. When I met him, he knew me already, but then I had to go to his trial and he had no idea who I was. We met all out of order. Then we decided to stick together for a while, which made things a lot easier. I decided to go off with Glitz then. The Doctor didn't need me anymore, but that guy over there sure did."

"Goes by Mel, meets the Doctor out of order, and has really big hair. Remind you of anyone?" Rory muttered to Amy, who giggled in response.

The Doctor paid no attention to Rory's remark, instead choosing to continue talking to Mel. "And how have your adventures been since then?"

"Oh! They've been fantastic. The Nosferatu II is a really great ship. It's not bigger on the inside, of course, but I've only seen a few things that were. And, unfortunately, it runs on fuel, and Glitz runs on money, so our adventures aren't so carefree. Overall, though, our dangers are a lot less… deadly."

"Well, nothing lowers your chances of survival like travelling with _him._" Rory nodded his head towards the Doctor.

The Doctor shot Rory a contemptuous look. "No need to get cheeky."

"Oh, come off it," Mel said, laughing. "You were the cheekiest of them all once. You know he once tried to convince me that the carrot juice I was feeding him was making him colorblind? He got a kick out of insulting people."

Amy laughed. "He still does."

The Doctor looked miffed. "Well, I suppose I must have done it too much, if you ran off with that cosmic con-man."

"He's not all bad. A little bit more concerned with money than you were, but that's not too awful. He's just got a spaceship; not a time machine. It's nice meeting people in the right order all the time." She turned to Amy, Rory, and Zoe to reassure them. "But don't take that as your cue to go off. Travelling with the Doctor is something really special that most people on Earth never get the chance to do. I just needed a bit of a calmer life, personally." Turning her attention back to the Doctor, Mel said, "So, is there something horribly wrong on this planet that we ought to know about, or are you just here for a surprise visit?"

The Doctor smiled once more. "We're actually here as a gift of sorts for Zoe. Nothing wrong that I know of. At least, not yet."

Mel returned his grin and took his arm. "Shall we explore then?"

"Absolutely! Amy, Rory, Zoe, follow me, all of you!"

"You'll take a bit of getting used to," Mel said, chuckling, "but I think I'll manage."


End file.
